


A Funny Little Thing Called Trust

by firestormrunner



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Trust, Volume 6 (RWBY), let's look at it throughout volume 6, oscar has to do a lot of trusting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2019-11-04 16:32:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17901626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firestormrunner/pseuds/firestormrunner
Summary: Ever since he had left his farm to go to Mistral, Oscar had been operating on a great deal of trust. Trust in himself, trust in this new group of people he was working with, trust in the voice in his head, and trust that everything would turn out alright in the end. As time marches on, he's quickly finding out trust is a pretty funny thing, and still probably the only thing he can rely on.Maybe he should be calling it blind faith.(Moments from V6C2 through V6C13)





	1. Her Name

**Author's Note:**

> It's me, back at it again with yet another character study. Shocking.
> 
> Since it's a little difficult working with characters who share a headspace, the formatting for this chapter is:  
> 1\. Regular quotes is whoever is in control talking out loud to the group  
> 2\. Italics is Oscar specifically, mentally to Ozpin  
> 3\. Bold is Ozpin specifically, mentally to Oscar

A cold wind ripped through him as hazel eyes started scanning the white expanse of the valley in front of him. The one they had just crash landed into. Where did he even _begin_? This was supposed to be a simple trip, one, couple hour train ride from Mistral to Argus. It was going to be even easier than when he had taken a train from his farm to Mistral, what with not having to worry about getting the tickets and having the funds and all that. The hard part wasn’t even supposed to begin until they hit Argus, and even then the only roadblock they were supposed to hit was figuring out how to get into Atlas.

And yet here they were, now stranded in the mountains after a train wreck. For it already being midday, it was still _way_ too early for this many things to have gone wrong.

And if the Grimm attack, the discovery that the Relic they were transporting may have been a factor in the Grimm attack (something that would have been nice to know _before_ they boarded a train filled with innocent people), getting split up from Team JNR, and being practically stranded in the mountains _weren’t_ enough…there was a little old lady who apparently decided to stow away on the back half of the train and was stuck here with them.

For lack of knowing where else to look or what else to catalogue, Oscar turned his attention towards her. She was short, with gray hair, a cane, and a weird contraption covering her eyes. He had never seen the technology before in person, but he could take a guess it was to help with her eyesight. His aunt had taught him never to presume anything, but he would wager a bet by looking at the sophistication of the device that she would be blind without it. Yet none of that seemed to stop the confidence coming off of her as she gave her greeting. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought she had fun on that ride…which was a stark contrast to everyone else at the moment.

The gravity of their situation started to sink in as he took in the wreckage behind her. The train cars they severed from the rest of the train were completely off the rails, and even if they could be reset onto the track they didn’t look to be in any operational shape. And that wasn’t even considering they had no power supply to get them up and running again even if they _were_ functional. They had no motorized way to get out of here. Well…they had Yang’s bike but who knew if that even made it through the crash, and really how would all of them fit on one bike anyways? That was impossible. They really were stuck here with no way out but by foot.

_Oh Gods we’re stranded…_

**“You did well holding your own against the Grimm. The worst of the fight is over, there is no reason to panic now.”**

The voice in his head was a small reassurance, if nothing else. Because Ozpin was right, as he often was, there was no reason to panic now. The Grimm were dealt with and everyone was alright at the moment, even the old lady. They were safe, relatively speaking, and they would be able to get themselves out of this, just as they had with every other situation they found themselves in.

So as everyone else started going about the area, collecting their things from the debris of the wreckage, Oscar stepped forward to do the only thing he could think of doing, which was help the newcomer out of the train. His aunt had taught him some manners after all, and helping and respecting the elderly was included in that package. “Hello,” he greeted the woman with a smile and held out his hand to her in an offer to help.

“Why, that is quite unnecessary young man,” the woman retorted and Oscar frowned. She almost sounded insulted. But as she took a step forward and wobbled as the unstable train car shifted around her, she took his hand and he helped her out and onto the snow-covered ground below.

“My name is Oscar,” he added as he helped her traverse the snow. He hoped it would earn him her name in return as much as he hoped it would distract her from the chattering going on behind them. Yang was in a mood it seemed, and while he couldn’t necessarily blame the blonde, he didn’t want the woman he was helping to hear Yang complaining about her and their current state anymore than he wanted to be reminded of it himself. There was no reason to panic, Oz was right.

“My name is Maria Calavera, and I am not defenseless!” So much for her not hearing Yang, but at least they had a name now. As Maria continued her defense, Oscar couldn’t help but to laugh. It seemed they had found someone just as fiery as Yang…and at least she had a sense of humor.

His smile immediately fell as the topic switched to the Relic, and the weight of the situation they found themselves in rested on him again. Right…that bit of information. They readily handled the Grimm attack on the train with little issue, aside from the current one staring them in the face, but something still didn’t sit right with him. Why wouldn’t Oz have given them that information? Why didn’t _he_ at least know that information? Ozpin had a way of hiding or blocking knowledge from him, just the same as he could share knowledge with him; he had learned that pretty early on. He always figured that was for the best, so as not to overwhelm him or the bond that they now shared. He respected that and never pushed, both for the man’s privacy as well as not wanting to overwhelm himself.

But this…that the Relic maybe attracted Grimm? It seemed so small in terms of their bond but so important to tell everyone else. Had they known that going in, they could’ve been more prepared to face the inevitable. It was a safety concern.

**“I believed the risk was minimal. Perhaps I should have reassessed.”**

Oscar didn’t know if he could fully accept that. _“Maybe we should talk about that sort of thing before you decide?”_

“What happened to no more lies and half-truths?” He looked up as he felt a bunch of eyes land on him. Good question, he was wondering the same thing, and he made it a point to ask. _“What did happen to that?”_ he asked while verbally agreeing with Yang. He only received a tired sigh in response as he started stepping aside from the control over his body.

Oscar felt the dizzying presence of someone else as Ozpin took control. It happened every time and yet he still wasn’t quite used to it. Nor had he fully gotten used to the feeling of practically floating over his own body when Oz had control, though it was much less unsettling now than the first couple of times it happened. He watched and waited quietly as Oz began explaining to everyone else.

“I did not lie to you,” Oz started and that was…technically true. But withholding information wasn’t that much better.

“Well you _certainly_ didn’t tell us everything about the Relic,” Yang snapped back, and Oscar could feel a sense of regret and a sense of frustration at her words. It took him a moment to realize that wasn’t coming from him, but coming from Oz.

 _“She’s right though, you know,”_ Oscar said, _“Not telling them everything is pretty similar to lying.”_

“Please, now is not the time…” He didn’t know if Ozpin was talking to him or Yang. Probably both. And maybe it wasn’t, being trapped in the middle of the mountains, but when _would_ be the time?

“No, we’re past that! I wanna know why you’re _still_ not telling us everything!” Yang shouted.

Oz sighed and folded his hands behind his back. “It is true the Grimm are attracted to the Relics. It’s faint, but undeniable. I believe it has to do with their origin, but I’m not entirely sure,” he finally relented. “Regardless,” he continued before anyone, even Oscar, could interject, “I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option.”

 _“I can kind of see your point,_ ” Oscar admitted. He could feel through the bond Oz thought he was doing what was best for everyone. Still, he shook his head, _“But still, wouldn’t it have been better to tell everyone so they could be prepared in case this happened? I mean, I guess they already were but…still. If you had told them in Mistral when you were explaining the Relic, they would’ve had time to accept it and settle down.”_

**“I did not know if they would settle down or the weight of the knowledge would only rest heavier on all of you. You are still young, after all, you should not have to worry about such things.”**

“You know, I’m getting real tired of people choosing what’s best for me,” Weiss remarked, and Oscar found himself sympathizing.

 _“I know we’re young but they’ve been through a lot. And you’re living in my head_ ,” Oscar said, _“They did everything they could to protect Beacon. I didn’t even want to leave my farm, but in the end I still did. Maybe you should trust us a little more that we’ll do what we have to.”_

He got a relenting sigh in response. **“Perhaps…once we are in Argus we will discuss it further.”** If nothing else, Ozpin was open-minded at least. They would have a discussion about it later, Oscar trusted him on his word there. Oz had always kept it in the past, that was why he was allowed to fight Lionheart at Mistral. And deal with the Grimm now. Ozpin may have felt he was always choosing what was best for everyone, but he was willing to admit when he might have been wrong.

If that had been the end of it, Oscar would’ve called it a win. Instead, he felt a chilling anxiety through the bond as the conversation switched to Lionheart and what the people knew of him. It was rightfully a touchy subject, but he didn’t expect anyone to disagree with what Ozpin did. He didn’t. Telling an entire kingdom of people the headmaster of their top school was actually an agent for the top terror of the world they didn’t even know about didn’t exactly seem like the smartest of plans. Even he could tell that much.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth,” Ozpin answered Yang’s angry accusation. And Oscar still agreed. “And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, and not for the unfortunate missteps he made in his final years.”

 _“Missteps?”_ Oscar asked at the same time as Yang’s outbursts. While he agreed Oz made the right decision there, missteps was _hardly_ the word he’d use to describe what Lionheart had done.

Ozpin sighed again and answered both at the same time, “What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible. I am not here to argue differently…” And that felt like a pointed remark towards him, because Oscar could feel the willingness to argue bubbling up. _He_ was the one who had fought Mistral’s headmaster, after all. What Lionheart had done were more than missteps. “…But does one lapse in judgment truly negate all of his good?” Ozpin continued, “Do we not all have regrets? You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man he was before Salem found him.”

Yet, something didn’t add up. Oscar could tell he was holding back on something, something he wouldn’t be able to push into even if he tried. _“Do you regret what happened?”_ he asked, and the mixture of emotions he got in response were hard to parse. _“Did you tell **him** everything before Salem found him?”_ The anxious silence he felt in response was enough of an answer, and Oscar felt a bit of indignation burn through him.

Because maybe Oz was right, they hadn’t met the man before Salem got to him. Maybe Leo Lionheart had been a wonderful, brave, kindhearted man before Salem turned him. Maybe he was ready to give up everything for humanity back then. And maybe, _just maybe_ , if he had known the full truth…whatever that even _was_ at this point…Salem wouldn’t have been able to turn him. She wouldn’t have had anything to use to manipulate him with. Oscar wanted to believe that, he had to believe it. He needed to believe in Leo, and everyone else for that matter. He needed to believe people would generally choose the right thing if all the information was given to them. He hadn’t been with this group for as long, he hadn’t endured as much as they had, but he had learned enough and gotten enough glimpses from Oz to know that if Remnant stood any chance against Salem, people generally had to choose the right thing and keep fighting.

At the end of the day, Oscar knew he would…all of the information would just make it easier in the long run.

 _“You have to give people a chance!”_ he exclaimed. _“I know not everyone will make the right choice, but I have to believe most will! Lionheart was only one against a group of many who—”_

“Do you really think Leo was the first?!”

He hadn’t been paying attention enough to the outside conversation to know if that was a response to him or everyone else. Oscar didn’t have much time to question it though as images of people he didn’t know flickered around him. He groaned with a sickening feeling sinking in him as he realized these images were old memories Oz had lost his grip on. Memories of others, people from a long life who eventually turned on this one soul and an understandable fear that history had a nasty tendency to repeat itself.

He shrunk back from the memories in an attempt to distance himself. _“Just how many were there?”_ The question slipped out, he hadn’t meant to ask it but his shock forced him to speak.

**“…I’ve lost count. I’m sorry, you shouldn’t be seeing this.”**

Oscar frowned, disliking the regret in Ozpin’s tone. _This_ was what he wanted to see, flashes of the truth and what had really happened to Oz. He _wanted_ to understand, it was all he wanted since Ozpin first reincarnated into him. “ _And how many were there that stood by you regardless?”_

**“I don’t know that either.”**

Oscar didn’t know if Oz refused to answer him because he really didn’t know, or if he was simply distracted by the other conversation and…everything it apparently brought up. “That he didn’t say those _exact_ same words to me? I’m sorry, but you have to understand that my behaviors are backed by experience—” Evidently. “—I’m not saying that I have reason to think you will betray me—”

Oscar didn’t know if he believed that either, and in the bond that they shared there was doubt. He couldn’t say that he necessarily blamed Oz, not after what he had just seen, but there was something still there. Something heavy, incredibly… _familiar_ and heavy was weighing on him. Oscar had felt this secret’s weight come in waves every so often, sometimes when talking with the group, but mostly at night, when he and Oz were alone and should’ve been sleeping. After a while he’d stopped asking about it after repeatedly only being met with silence. Any brief glimpses at the ever-pooling memories did nothing to help with his understanding of it either.

He had left it alone for a while. He was starting to wonder now though if that was the best decision. Maybe it was time to push back at it, it could be a good thing. The group would get information they desperately need and Ozpin would finally get to see people will still stand by him.

“—I’m saying that I have reasons for the things that I do, the secrets I keep, the reason I—”

He did, Oscar knew that as well. But it was getting old and he was tired and at a time like this, where another secret led to another tragedy, it needed to end. For everyone’s sake. Ozpin needed to trust _someone_. _“Is it fair to keep asking them to put their lives on the line for something they don’t understand? How much longer can you do that?”_ he asked, _“How much longer can you keep doing that to **me**?”_ He only got a wave of frustration in response, followed quickly by a freezing fear.

“—Where’s the Relic?”

The Relic…another weight, another secret. He hadn’t been paying attention to it much back in Mistral, far more fascinated with the story and new information about the Relic of Knowledge, but it had been there during Oz’s explanation then too. _“You lied to them about something else, too?”_ Oscar asked and without a second thought, threw all of his mental capacity against the block Ozpin had on the information. Probably out of sheer surprise, his block slowly lost its hold, and shock quickly flooded Oscar from the information.

_“It’s still useable?!? Why wouldn’t you tell them that?!?!”_

**“They could use it to ask anything.”**

Ozpin didn’t outright say what the issue with that was, but the implication was there in the nervousness exuding through their bond. They could ask about him. Another wave of indignation washed through Oscar. _“So what if they do? Isn’t it about time that we all got some answers? Had you just told them from the start, they probably wouldn’t have asked anything!”_

**“I’ve come to know older, wiser men to be tempted by lesser things than infinite knowledge.”**

_“Then you tell them it’s still useable but that you’re saving it for important questions! Now it’s obvious to everyone that you’re hiding something, of course they’ll ask!”_

**“We’ll discuss this later, Oscar.”**

No, no he was done being silenced and disregarded like this. He knew maybe Ozpin would keep to his word with that too, but he was done with not having any answers! That’s all it had been since he left his farm to go to Mistral, vague acknowledgements and half-truths. He knew everyone had their right to their secrets, his aunt had taught him not be a busybody and respect people’s boundaries, but this was getting to be too much. He was done living on blind faith. He wanted _something_ to go on, and the rest deserved it too.

And he wanted Ozpin to see that despite everything he’d been through, whatever all of that even was, there were still good people he could trust in the world. He was beginning to wonder how much Oz believed that himself.

“I need you to listen to me—” Oz stopped, eyes widening as he could do nothing but stare ahead. **“Oscar, what are you doing?!”**

Oscar pushed against the older soul’s current control with everything he had. It was a struggle, but it was enough to stop Ozpin and whatever lie or non-answer he was going to say next. “Hurry…” Oscar croaked out.

**“Oscar stop this nonsense!”**

“…he’s…”

**“Oscar, I have given you the choice to be in control of your own body since I was reincarnated. This is the only instance where I cannot let that happen.”**

He felt a force against him and pushed back again.

“…trying to stop you!” The effort used most of his energy, and he was surprised as he and Oz did what he could only describe as the mental equivalent of a tackle. His body collapsed to the snow as the two wrestled for control.

**“Oscar, you need to stop this at once.  You have no clue what you are doing!”**

_“You need to trust them!”_

“Her name…”

 **“Oscar please!”** There had never been a note of true anger in his admonishments, but the truly _desperate_ begging in his tone became apparent with those two words. It gave Oscar a bit of pause and he felt a bit of regret at making the man sound like that, but it didn’t stop him. He believed in what he was doing. Whatever it was, whatever happened next he _did_ trust this group.

And at the very least, Ozpin should trust that.

_“Then at least trust me!”_

“…is Jinn.”


	2. His Reckoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like half a year to deal with work, moving, health stuff, and get back to writing...right?
> 
> Story isn't dead, I'm only half dead. Hope I made it worth the wait.

Bitter cold winds swept through the open field, cutting out a path as they kicked another snow pile up into the air. Oscar watched the flakes twirl on the gusts as they floated back down to the ground, only to inevitably be sent back up into the air again by another bout of wind. He shifted the weight of his backpack, tugging on the straps and pulling the bag closer to his back, and shivered. Whether the shiver was a result of the cold or the looming emotions from the past half hour, he didn’t know.

Well, between the storm in his chest and the aching in his head caused by a disturbing _lack_ of presence, he _did_ know. But the cold gave a good cover.

Almost unwillingly, his eyes looked back up to the rest of the group. Everyone was at least a good ten paces in front of him, and aside from the occasional howling of the wind and the crunching of snow under heavy footsteps, no one had said a word. Not since Maria and Ruby had agreed that they needed to press on to find shelter. They were right of course, none of them particularly wanted to die out in the cold. Yet the crushing hopelessness surrounding the group seemed to press on them harder than the biting chill in the air. The only thing that felt heavier to him was the empty isolation he felt from everyone else.

His jaw still smarted from when Qrow punched him (Oz….him? Gods he didn’t know anymore) but that was nothing compared to the immediate sense of being cut off from everyone else. He had seen the exact same things as they had. The story of a world born twice over, of a humanity that was given a second chance, of a broken woman turning into the very thing she should’ve hated, of a broken man drifting helplessly through the centuries with no conceivable plan. He had heard Jinn speak the same words as they had, that there was no way to defeat Salem. He had heard Ozpin speak the same words as they had, _felt_ them even more deeply as they came out of his own mouth, spoken with his own tongue, that there was no real plan.

And yet…

Oscar’s grip tightened around the straps of his backpack. “I’m just going to be another one of _his_ lives, aren’t I?” That was all he could ask Ruby when she handed him back the cane. It felt far heavier when he placed it back on his belt. Just how many had held it before him?

Because despite everything, despite seeing the unspeakable horrors of the past and how Remnant came to be…how Oz and Salem came to be and the war they had been waging ever since, and despite the uncertainty surrounding them all now about problems near and far, there was only one thing he could think about. Life after life. Reincarnation after reincarnation. It was always one life for another, one was lost for this enduring soul and his mission.

And sure, maybe the life reincarnated into wasn’t always lost. But could it ever truly survive the way it would’ve without having an extra passenger onboard? Could anyone ever truly have a life of their own when this burden was suddenly placed on them? Many tried, it seemed. But in the end, it was always the same wasn’t? They all died alone, with the expectation of doing it again and again and again. Even the best of them, who died surrounded by friends and family, still died alone in a way. Because really, who could understand the burdens of a man trapped with a thousand years behind him?

Was it…it was inevitable he would slip away one day, wasn’t it?

“Of course not. You’re your own person,” Ruby had said, but the comfort he derived from her words was short-lived. Qrow came by and admonished her for lying. They were better than that, he had claimed, and honestly it would’ve been kinder for the Huntsman to just punch him in the jaw again. It would’ve hurt less than the burning ache that settled in the pit of his stomach.

So that was it then. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t already seen the signs of it, the way Yang had demanded to talk to Ozpin, the way Blake and Weiss looked at him after he told them Oz had locked himself away. The anger and anguish in Qrow’s eyes after he spoke to him…Oz…and the confusion reflected and quickly hidden away in Ruby’s eyes. They already saw him, Oscar Pine, as Ozpin. Or at the very least, they already saw him as Oz’s vessel. Not himself, just another empty body housing the soul with a real destiny. He already wasn’t anybody to them…to anyone.

The past half hour replayed in his head again and again, to the point he eventually stopped in his tracks, watching the breath finally forced from his lungs take form in the cold air and float on towards the sky. His jaw clenched as he watched the group trudge on ahead of him, desperately trying to hold back the hot tears forming in his eyes. He had to resist the urge of his legs giving out under him, to just drop to his knees in the snow and not get back up. What did it matter anymore? Now that Ozpin was gone, they didn’t need him anymore. No one did.

_“Is this it then? Is this all there is?”_ Oscar didn’t expect an answer when he asked, but the silence that greeted him was unsettling nonetheless. He had grown used to having doubts and fears surrounding his situation, but there was always a gentle hand guiding him whenever they arose. Ozpin didn’t always answer every question he had, he didn’t always give a verbal response to every doubt Oscar expressed, but he had always been there. Even when he didn’t speak, Oscar could always feel Oz’s support, a gentle, calming wave of encouragement and understanding that would soothe what doubt he had. But now…

Now there was nothing. An empty space for his doubts and fears to fill.

_“Is that all I really am destined to be?”_ he asked, growing frantic in the face of the nothingness he was met with. He gripped the cane at his side, thinking that maybe if he held onto it, it wouldn’t feel so weighted with all the lives that came before him. _“Oz, please! Tell me there’s more! Please…”_

It was pointless. He wasn’t going to get an answer. Ozpin’s presence was still there at least, but it was so faint, locked in the deepest part of his mind behind so many walls, he had no intention of coming back. And Oscar certainly wasn’t going to get in. He was alone for this, alone with his thoughts, there wouldn’t be anymore answers or the comfort he had grown used to…

_“Would you believe him even if he did come back?”_ Oscar grit his teeth against his own question and shook his head. Believe or not, it didn’t matter, he had grown used to Ozpin’s presence and the lack of it was disconcerting. He was comforting, lies or truth. Oscar could have found relief, even if temporary, in a lie. Even if it was just the reassurance that everything would be alright.

_“That was his point, you know.”_ It…it was, wasn’t it? Ignorance was bliss. He sighed and ducked his head, releasing his vice-like grip on the weapon. After a moment he picked up his pace to try and catch up with the others. Or at least, to catch back up at a reasonable distance from them.

It _was_ easier to not know. He didn’t have to worry about his fate when he didn’t know the merge was seemingly inevitable. It was easier when they didn’t know about what the Gods had done to the planet once. It was easier when they didn’t know the true horrors Salem had committed. It was easier when they still had a blind hope that Salem could be defeated and that Oz had some sort of plan to do it. It was easier when everything didn’t seem so utterly hopeless.

_“Do you regret your decision?”_

The question had been sitting in the back of his mind ever since they had all been released from Jinn’s revelation about what Ozpin was hiding. Because this was ultimately the result of his decision to override Oz and tell Ruby about Jinn. They all knew because of him, because he had uttered the Relic’s name. Oz had locked himself away because of how they reacted to knowing. Yet, with all the fear, all the uncertainty, all the despair surrounding their situations and their missions and the prospect that one day he would slip away…regret was not an emotion he felt.

Oscar tore his attention from the snow-covered ground when he noticed the group stopped. Ruby and Qrow were talking quietly at the front. He couldn’t hear what it was about, but he could guess it was in preparation of what to do in case this trail wound up going nowhere. It was a brief conversation, and as Qrow stalked off to scout ahead, Ruby took a second to glance back at everyone else. When her gaze finally connected with his, she gave a small smile. It was forced and it was broken and it held a tiredness that reached her silver eyes all too easily, but the gesture still counted for something.

He was reminded of a night a couple weeks back, when they were still in Mistral and things were…well, not simpler, but easier. When after countless hours of training, to the point that he was well beyond feeling exhaustion seeping into his bones, he had finally had it and asked Ruby how she could be so confident. How she could handle all of everything they had been faced with.

And she explained. She explained the horrors she had seen herself, the _losses_ she had _felt_ ; she admitted that she was scared for herself and scared for everyone else. That she hurt from everything that had already happened to her, to everyone. Yet through it all, she found the strength to keep moving forward. It seemed like they all did.

“Hey Oscar,” she had called to him that night, “This isn’t going to be easy. But the fact that you’re even trying says a lot about you. You’re braver than you think.”

Perhaps Ruby had always seen something in him that he wasn’t sure was there himself. The same with Ozpin, actually. And ultimately, _that_ was why he could say he didn’t regret his decision.

Sure, the lie was easier. Living in ignorance was more comfortable and made everything much easier to deal with. But they deserved to know the truth, they _all_ did…even himself. It may not have been what anyone wanted to hear, but it was information they needed to know. They deserved to know what they were truly up against to prepare accordingly. And they _would_ prepare accordingly. Maybe not now, when everything was still so raw, but after some time had taken its course to heal the freshest of wounds.

Oscar still trusted them. Maybe he had no real reason to after the events that just transpired, but he still did. He understood their hurt, he understood their anger and their confusion. Hell, _he_ was hurt and angry and lost. But they would still do what was right. They always had up until this point, there was no reason to expect them to do otherwise. Especially with Ruby at the helm. They would keep moving forward.

Even him…even if it meant at the end of it all he could do nothing but slip away. Trepidation aside that had…never really been in question.

He sighed as the group started moving again and paused, watching his breath again as it curled around him and drifted up and up. After another moment staring up at the sky, he carried on with the rest of them.

***

The day had only provided further cruelties. They had found shelter at Brunswick Farms, but the gruesome discovery of the prior inhabitants left everyone even more on edge. It didn’t make any sense, the entire town having gone to bed one night and just never getting back up. It was just another thing to add to the growing list of anxieties in the group. Still, they had no other choice but to stay since the snowstorm started raging outside.

After finding some food and a way out for tomorrow, everyone seemed to have settled down enough to get some sleep. Exhaustion had spread through the group like wildfire, so it wasn’t necessarily a surprise that most everyone fell asleep quickly. Oscar wasn’t one of them though, instead sitting in the back corner of the room and observing the cane he held gingerly in his hand.

He clicked the handle once, watching it extend, nearly silent, before he clicked it again and it retracted just as quietly. Like clockwork, the only thing that could be heard from the cane were the gears in it. The weight of the weapon on his belt had grown increasingly heavier ever since Ruby had first handed it back to him, to the point that it was haunting his mind long after everyone else had drifted off in their slumber. He had eventually given in, grabbing the weapon and examining it by the dull light of the fire for at least an hour now, lost in his own thoughts.

A small part of him was tempted to get rid of it. To be done with the whole thing and throw the cane into the fire and watch the silver metal glow red before slowly melting away. After the revelations of the day, it didn’t matter anymore. It wasn’t like the cane was _his_ weapon after all, and it wasn’t likely Oz was coming back anytime soon. All it did was serve as a reminder of what he was and what he wasn’t…and what the man who came before him was…and what he wasn’t too. It was just another reminder of the hopelessness and inevitability of it all and…and Oscar was tired of that.

He was so tired of it all.

Yet, every time he moved to stand up and go to the fire, his hand gripped the cane harder and he sat back down. There was no use in destroying a perfectly good weapon…and it was the only weapon he had been training on, after all. One day it could… _would_ be just as much his as it was Ozpin’s. Not to mention it _was_ a reminder. A reminder of what he was, and what he had to do yes, the inevitability of an unknown fate, but it was also a reminder of all the good he was meant to accomplish.

It was a reminder of all the good Ozpin had already accomplished, for thousands upon thousands of years.

_“Do you regret your decision?”_

Oscar was still tormented by the question. Maybe yes, he did regret causing that much pain to Ozpin, no matter how good his intentions or how unwitting it was. But no, he still didn’t regret his decision. He still trusted the group to do what was right. He still trusted himself to do what was right too. And it was that conviction he kept reminding himself of every time it felt too pointless to continue on. It was what kept him from burning the cane every time.

He would keep moving forward. They all would. And maybe someone else needed that reminder.

_“Oz, I know you can hear me.”_ That wasn’t entirely true, but Oscar was pretty sure that he was still in there somewhere, listening to what was happening. _“They’re hurt, and they’re angry, and they’re scared,”_ he said, a small frown forming as he stared down at the cane, _“You can’t blame them for that. After everything they just found out…that I just found out, I get it. But I do still trust them.”_

Oscar sighed and stood up, letting the cane slip through his fingers until he caught it at the top. _“I’m sorry for what I did but…there’s still good in this world. **They** are the good still left in this world, and I know you believe that too_,” he continued as he walked back to his makeshift bed. He pulled his pack to him and dropped the cane inside. He smiled at how it looked in his pack, like it belonged. _“They’ve gone through too much and still chosen the right path in the end. I trust them to still do what’s right.”_

He closed his pack and shifted it to the side as he laid down underneath his blanket. He closed his eyes and felt himself already starting to drift off into a much-needed sleep.

_“I promise, Oz. We’ll **all** still do what is right.”_

**Author's Note:**

> For all you Oz lovers out there, don't worry. I'm one of you. This scene will be addressed again by the end, but I really want to believe that throughout it Oscar really did think the was doing what was best for everyone.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> ~Stormy


End file.
